Cancer
Page 3

​Tumor-treating fields are a relatively new form of cancer treatment that send mild electrical fields through the scalp. New research results have found that it significantly improves survival rates in brain cancer patients, with scientists labelling it a once-in-a-decade advance in the area.​​

​For decades, scientists have been using dogs' incredible sense of smell as inspiration for new-age diagnostic devices. They are now reporting that they've identified key molecules in the scent of urine that seem to reveal prostate cancer in a subject.​​

When removing tumors, surgeons rely on what they can see with their eyes, but at a smaller scale, cancerous cells could be left behind that could grow into new malignancies. A new technique could lead to glow-in-the-dark tumors that would help guide surgeons to the exact tissue needing extraction.

Spotting cancer early usually involves invasive biopsies. But it could soon be as simple as a routine blood test, thanks to a new computer program from UCLA researchers that can spot biomarkers in a patient’s blood sample and identify where a tumor might be hiding.

Early detection of cancer is key, and a blood test would be far simpler than invasive biopsies. Researchers at Purdue recently made a major breakthrough in this area, identifying a series of proteins that, when found in elevated levels in a patient's blood, can signify the presence of cancer.​

Cancer often spreads to other organs and parts of the body through a process called metastasis, which, if left unchecked, can be fatal. A new paper is looking at the current state of metastasis research, to help scientists cripple cancer’s ability to spread throughout the body.​

Individuals with cancer experience many anxiety-filled moments over their course of treatment. In order to alleviate some of this stress, one Australian hospital is using virtual reality to provide a therapeutic degree of relaxation and escapism to its chemotherapy patients.

In a promising development that strengthens the case for personalized cancer care, scientists have demonstrated the possibility of predicting the potential for an individual to have adverse side effects to different drugs by first testing them on stem cells made from the patient's own blood.​

Beating cancer won't come from one “eureka!” moment, but a series of advances and techniques that add up to better treatments. Cancer could die by a million cuts, and the latest is interrupting the cells' natural waste disposal system, causing defective proteins to build up and choke the tumor out.

​One of cancer's effects on the body is the stiffening of cells. While detecting this phenomenon early could help lead to better treatment options for cancer victims, thus far, doing so hasn't been possible on a cell-by-cell basis. By using two lasers and a camera, researchers have changed that.